Glossary
Plain-English reference
Industry terms you'll see in our service pages, defined in one place.
D
- Deionized water (DI) Water with minerals removed via ion-exchange resin. Used in pure-water cleaning; identical purity to RO water.
F
- Fascia board Horizontal trim board along the roof edge. Gutters hang from it. Failure is usually hidden rot.
H
- Hard-water spots Mineral residue left on glass when tap water evaporates. Long-term exposure etches glass permanently.
M
- Microcracks (solar panels) Invisible hairline fractures in solar cells. Caused by pressure-wash impact; reduces output long-term.
P
- Pure-water cleaning Cleaning method using deionized or reverse-osmosis water through brush poles — no soap, no squeegee, leaves no residue.
R
- Reverse osmosis (RO) Pressure-driven filtration through a semi-permeable membrane. First-stage filter in most pure-water cleaning rigs.
S
- Sodium hypochlorite Bleach-based mold-killer used in soft-washing. Diluted + combined with surfactant for exterior work.
- Soft-washing Low-pressure chemical cleaning (typically bleach + surfactant) for surfaces too soft for pressure washing.
T
- TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) Measure of dissolved minerals in water (ppm). Pure-water cleaning targets 0-5 ppm; tap water is 100-400 ppm.
- Tiger striping Black vertical streaks on gutter faces. Oxidized aluminum + airborne dirt. Standard cleaning doesn't remove it.